You may have heard about the man from U.S.A, who died because his recent tattoo got infected with an ocean bacteria. You may have read all the articles related to this specific topic, that were posted all over the internet. In the following rows of this article, I will try to develop this topic a bit, so you may understand better, why this tragedy happened and how you can avoid such situation.
If you are a tattoo lover, and many people are, you will also be able discover here a few safety methods that will help you stay away from any type of infections. If this is not enough you will also be able to read more about how you can treat an infected tattoo. If all the things enumerated above seem to be interesting for you, you should continue your reading.
How that man died?
In case you haven’t read the story, it seems, that he did not respected the recommendations received from the tattoo artist and he swam into the sea even if his tattoo was not completely healed. He did that in the Mexican Golf waters, where certain ocean bacterium lives, namely Vibrio vulnificus. This bacterium is also known as the flesh eater bacteria.
It can affect most people with week immunity systems or the ones with unhealed wounds. It can be contacted in various ways. Many people are infected after eating sea fruits from that area, especially if they eat them raw or undercooked. Others can get it directly from the seawater. No matter how people contact this bacterium, the consequences are quite dangerous, because almost 25 % of the infected patients die in dreadful pains.
Vibrio vulnificus infection: signs, treatment and prognosis
The signs and symptoms may differ according with the way you got infected. For example, in case you ingested the bacteria the main sign will be a very powerful gastroenteritis. You will experience a dreadful diarrhea joined by vomiting episodes and also powerful abdominal pains. What you must know is that the presence of this bacterium does not alter in any way the taste or the color of the oysters.
In case you contacted this bacterium, because you swam in infected water and you have unhealed wounds even if they are really small, you may observe in a very short while, that the area through where the bacterium got inside your body, will become swollen, painful and you will have a very nasty rash that is actually a developed blistering dermatitis.
The worst part is that a very invasive type of septicemia is developed with the speed of light no matter how or where you contacted the bacterium. If you suffer of chronic diseases such as diabetes, liver illnesses or others like that, your body will fail you faster than you can imagine. The persons who have poor immunity systems are very exposed when it comes about this flesh eater bacterium and their chances to survive are quite small.
As it was already mentioned, the mortality rate can reach 25 % percent but in some situations it can increase to 50 %. This is a very big percent indeed. When it comes about the treatment, things are not certain at all. It can work or it cannot work. Usually very powerful antibiotics are used to treat such fatal infection. There are various treatment schemes available but the rate of success can increase only if the patient comes to the Hospital emergency room from the first signs. Usually the septicemia installs itself within 48 hours from the infection and so does death. The key is to receive the proper treatment before these 48 hours so you can increase your chances. The way your organism reacts to the treatment is another important thing. If you already have a weakened organism, your chances can decrease considerably.
How you should take care of your new tattoo
Considering that this topic started from one man who died from an infected tattoo, you may want to know more about the ways to protect your new tattoo and remain a healthy person after all.
What you must remember is that your tattoo it is not just a nice drawing. It is an open wound. This is the reason why the tattoo artist is placing that bandage over it. Because of that, the tattooed area is very sensitive and it can get infected by various bacteria that may be in the environment. The genuine bandage should be left on its place for at least two hours just as any tattoo artist will strongly recommend.
After the bandage comes off, and you will finally be able to admire your own tattoo, the main thing you must remember is to maintain a proper hygiene. The antibacterial soap is a must. You should wash that area with warm water and soap and you should not dry it by using a towel. Clean napkins are the best choice when it comes about drying that area. Immediately after that, you must apply the cream recommended to help heal that wound faster and better. The tattooed area must remain moist all the time until is healed.
You should avoid, however to soak it. Nice, short duration showers can be done but not long soaking baths. You must avoid swimming in pools, lakes or long baths for at least two weeks.
You will notice that in a very short period of time you will feel some itches. These itches can bother you, but they are perfectly normal, considering that this is the natural healing process. You should not scratch or remove the peel. Use the unguent instead and the peel will fall off by itself.
You should not expose your tattoo to the sunrays even after it is healed. Tattoos hate sun because the intensity of its colors will fade.
How to treat an infected tattoo
This is another thing that may interest you. Many people may become infected. This happens because they do not respect the rules already mentioned in the previous paragraph, but once it happens what can you do?
How do you know it is infected? Usually an intense pain in that area is the first sign. It is normal to have a small ache, which is quite bearable. If the ache lasts longer than two days then you must consider an infection. There are other signs as well. Beside the pain, you will also notice an inflammation more intense than it should be. If that inflammation is also warm and you can also see a few blistering filled with liquid, which may release an unpleasant smell, you should seek for proper treatment immediately. Things like itches, rashes, fever, swollen ganglia are other symptoms that must not be neglected. An untreated infection can lead to septicemia and sudden death.
How can you treat it? You must go and visit your doctor for an appropriate medical treatment. Usually antibiotics will be prescribed to solve this situation. You will also receive good advices related to the hygiene that must be respected. Most all the hygiene advices you did not respected from the beginning and led you to this unpleasant situation must be followed now.
Conclusions:
You must be very much aware of all the risks any decision that you may take implies. Otherwise, you may find yourself in very unpleasant situations and even deadly ones. No one wants that. Tattoos are very nice and they usually reflect the owners’ personality. Sometimes they express details from their lives that are very important for them. This is a beautiful thing. All you have to do is to respect a few common sense rules and everything will be perfect
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